Bread Machine Help...please!

I got a Breadman bread machine and all my attempts to make a decent loaf of white or wheat bread turn out as horrible messes.
Can someone help me out? The recipes in their booklet have two different types/measures of yeast. I have searched the web site for help.
Why can't I use regular AP flour like I do for my handmade loaves?
I have tried Regular yeast and Bread machine yeast. What is the difference because I see no difference on the label.
I am just about ready to throw this thing out!
Thanks,
Kirsten

I got a Breadman bread machine and all my attempts to make a decent loaf of white or wheat bread turn out as horrible messes.
Can someone help me out? The recipes in their booklet have two different types/measures of yeast. I have searched the web site for help.
Why can't I use regular AP flour like I do for my handmade loaves?
I have tried Regular yeast and Bread machine yeast. What is the difference because I see no difference on the label.
I am just about ready to throw this thing out!
Thanks,
Kirsten

The bread flour is different from regular flour...
I think it is a higher gluten.
I have an old bread machine (10yrs old), and don't have much of a problem making the bread. I do prefer the bread machine yeast. You store it in the fridge and use it just like the regular stuff. The best breads that we like are the french bread and the quick oldfashioned bread.

not quite sure what you mean by "mess", but if you don't want to buy seprate bread flour, you can buy gluten or bread enhancer in the grocery baking section to add to your AP flour to give it more umph. Also, peek in while it is kneading and see how the dough looks. you can quickly add a bit more flour or liquid as needed. many instructions don't tell you that you can do that. alse make sure you put the ingred. in the pan according to your specific machine, not all follow the same order.

Is this a new machine? I have to wonder if there is something wrong with it. It shouldn't make *that* much difference whether you use regular flour or bread flour, regular dry yeast or machine dry yeast. The most important thing I have found is the order in which ingredients are added. For my machine, liquids go in first, flour on top, and then I made two little "wells" in the flour for the dry yeast. If you are following directions for order of ingredients and your bread is not rising, seems to me as if the machine is not heating properly. Too little heat and the yeast will not rise fast enough before baking starts, resulting in a small dense loaf. Too much heat kills the yeast and the bread doesn't rise because the yeast is dead. Additional gluten helps, but shouldn't be necessary to get a decent loaf.

Maybe you could be a little more specific about "horrible mess"? Is the loaf too small, too large, unbaked in the center, overbaked?

I thank you all for the replies. I will try and take some pics of the latest White Bread Loaf...the previous one went to the crows
I hadn't thought to use gluten in the machine but I always throw in a tblspn in the hand made loaves. I'm at a loss with the fancy machine, my Dads always was a good loaf.
K

I know on my bread machine you have to layer the ingredients in a certain order. Water, salt, butter (if using), flour, sugar, then yeast. I know it said specifically to avoid the yeast touching the liquid and salt. That's all I could think of besides the great ideas already posted. Hope you get a good result soon.